Argentina and Venezuela take gold in fourth stage of Nanjing qualification tournaments

Vargas, Venezuela, April 28, 2014 – Argentina’s
women and Venezuela’s men have taken gold in the fourth stage of qualifiers for
the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China.

The women’s duo of Camila Hiruela/Irene Verasio
were the first Argentinians to win a qualification stage for Nanjing 2014 after
defeating the duo from Ecuador Carolina Mishelle Pacheco Molina/Valeria
Briggite Batioja Ocampo in the final 2-0 (21-19, 21-15 ).

“We only recently started playing
this sport,” said Hiruela. “The truth is that we still cannot believe what has
happened. We are very happy and will keep practicing to improve."

Her
partner Irene Verasio also expressed her delight at getting to this stage. "This
is a beautiful experience and it's something you cannot live every day,” said
Verasio. “But with heart and desire it is possible to have this major
achievement."

Following their victory, Gomez
said, "First of all I would like to thank God for the victory, the
Ministry of Sport, the Venezuelan Federation of Volleyball, the coaching staff
and the whole country for supporting us."

He also made mention of a larger
goal. "Another thing that awaits us is qualification for the Youth Olympic
Games. Once this happens we can turn our focus fully on the Youth Olympic Games.
This is something that we have talked about to all the coaches so that we can
have strong mental preparedness and focus on one goal - an Olympic medal."

Rolando Hernandez also expressed his joy at
winning. "I am very happy with my partner and would like to thank God for
the victory today. The expectations are the same. Now we're going to Peru in
order to get our ticket to the Youth Olympic Games," he concluded.